1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head light system, and particularly to a head light system having such a structure as to permit smooth attaching and detaching of couplers. In addition, the present invention relates to a headlamp system for a vehicle which has a structure for reducing the thermal influence exerted on a harness and the like disposed on the rear side of a headlamp main body.
2. Description of Background Art
A head light system mounted to a vehicle such as a motorcycle comprises a bulb, a reflector for reflecting the light generated by the bulb toward the front side of the vehicle, a case for accommodating the bulb and the reflector, and a lens provided on the front side of the reflector.
A head light system comprising two bulbs disposed in the upper-lower direction is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 11-43087. In this publication, a structure in which first and second movable-side couplers are respectively attached to and detached from first and second bulbs in the longitudinal direction of the latter and a structure in which the positions of first and second fixed-side couplers for the first and second bulbs are mutually staggered in the front-rear direction, are shown. The first and second movable-side couplers are inserted, respectively, into the first and second fixed-side couplers, whereby power supply wirings for the bulbs are attained.
Another example of the headlamp system for a vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-106017. A reflector of this headlamp system comprises a reflective surface formed by providing an undercoating on a reflector base material composed of a synthetic resin and further providing a vapor deposited silver film and a topcoat layer thereon. A rear portion of the reflector is covered with a lamp body, or case, made of a synthetic resin.
However, since the head light system disclosed in the above-mentioned publication has a structure in which the first and second movable-side couplers are respectively attached to and detached from the first and second bulbs in the longitudinal direction of the latter and the structure in which the positions of the first and second fixed-side couplers for the first and second bulbs are mutually staggered in the front-rear direction, there is a problem in that the length of the system in the front-rear direction is enlarged, and the space required for laying out the components and for attaching and detaching operations is enlarged.
In addition, since the thickness of the system in the front-rear direction is large, the appearance thereof as viewed from a lateral side is spoiled in the case of a naked-type system in which the head light system is not covered with a fairing or the like.
In the case where a plurality of bulbs are used for increasing the amount of light, it may be impossible to obtain a sufficient heat resistance with a reflector formed of a synthetic resin base material. Though the heat resistance can be enhanced by enlarging the reflector in size, the overall size of the headlamp cannot be extremely enlarged, from the viewpoints of appearance and layout. In consideration of this, it may be contemplated to form the reflector of a highly heat-resistant metal, for example, an aluminum alloy.
However, since metal has a high thermal conductivity, a metallic reflector exerts a thermal influence on the rear side thereof. A harness is disposed between the reflector and a case on the rear side thereof, and, in consideration of the influence of the heat conducted from the reflector, it is necessary to adopt a highly heat-resistant harness. In the headlamp system described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2000-106017, a wire connection portion between the harness and the bulb (electric discharge lamp) is covered with a cover, but the covering of the wire connection portion with the cover makes the bulb maintenance complicated. Further, the heat conducted through the reflector exerts a thermal influence also on the synthetic resin made case.
In order to solve this problem, there may be contemplated a structure in which the first and second movable-side couplers are attached to and detached from the first and second bulbs in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the latter and a structure in which the positions of the first and second fixed-side couplers for the first and second bulbs are in the same plane. In this case, however, there is a new problem that the interference between the first and second movable-side couplers for the first and second bulbs and the interference by the wirings extending from the movable couplers make it impossible to smoothly attach and detach the movable-side couplers.